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My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

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Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#51

Post by nick-dap »

I'm in the same boat. It's been difficult. I cannot express how grateful I am to Jose Vargas for writing this story.

I was brought here as a kid 13 years ago. I'm 24 now. I also graduated from a "top" university -- like that matters. I guess my parents weren't smart enough to get a fake social security card for me back then, I wish they were. I've also been fighting for the Dream Act for what feels like an eternity. I made a site and still maintain it, have met with Senators, protested in front of the White House, several times, other things. I'm loosing hope. I lost hope in Congress long ago. I lost hope in this President in December, when he failed to stand by us and the vote. I don't have anything left to wait for.

I'm still "hiding," most of my friends have no idea, but I see less and less reason to do so every day. I just can't take it anymore. I'm worth _something_. I'm competent coder, and fuck it all, at least I got that, my mind, and my family.

Anybody who wants to debate the pros and cons of immigration reform can go to hell. I'm done reading the hate mail. I'm done debating. I am done listening to those masked bigots. I know what it is like to live like this having done nothing wrong. I know that I don't deserve the punishment. If we can't agree on the fact that I am American and should have basic rights, then we have nothing to talk about. I'm not asking for anything except recognition.

Btw, people who were brought here on fake documents, as me and Jose, can't get married for papers. So even if Jose wasn't gay, he wouldn't be able to adjust based on marriage. It's unfortunate that people who come here on student visas get married -- assuming they have enough money -- and have a green card in six months. People like me and Jose, homebred Americans if ya will, are forever tarnished with this inherited title. Hello, my name is "illegal immigrant." That's what I feel like every single day. Every morning in the shower, I utter the words "I am so fucking tired." And I am.

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#52

Post by ktsmith »

anigbrowl wrote: post #35
ktsmith wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Working on this issue how? Trying to find/provide work for these people or simply trying to change the law. There's a big difference between the two and knowingly employing an undocumented worker (illegal alien) is a felony.

Did you see the bit where I said ' legally providing opportunities'? And the bit where I mentioned a law professor? And the bit where I mentioned political capital? I feel that these should be sufficient to assure you that I am not in fact promoting a criminal enterprise. I find your comment offensive. EDIT: I see that you have added some context to clarify below. Likewise, I would like to clarify that this effort is…

I found your comment to be vague and I asked for clarification while citing a specific concern. The fact that you mentioned a law professor and political capital is mostly meaningless. Due to my employment I see all kinds of issues related to undocumented workers and all kinds of violations of immigration and employment law. Legally most undocumented workers have little to no options. A family petition if they are lucky, leaving the country and applying for re-entry if they aren't. That's an oversimplification, but not much.

Edit: Thanks for the clarification and the reason for being vague. I understand your intent much more clearly now.

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#53

Post by splat »

lupatus wrote: post #49

It's really courageous of him to come ahead with his story. I really hope he gets shipped back to the Philippines. Go ahead and call me a xenophobe now. Whatev. I think it is in poor form for the NYT to print this manipulative article that tries to make me feel bad for the gay, minority, do-gooder author and excuse his years of criminally fraudulent behavior. Sure, call me heartless. But, this guy is cheating you, an…

What exactly has he conned you out of? He paid his taxes, he contributed to American society. It seems pretty clear that he put in more than he took. Who's losing by having him here?

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#54

Post by jacis »

[deleted] wrote: post #41
hugh4life wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doing what the anigbrowl is referring to is certainly a felony...

[deleted]

I think what may have thrown some people off is your usage of the word "scheme". For myself, it elicits more negative connotations and throws off the message somewhat without spending more brain cycles.

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#55

Post by rglullis »

lupatus wrote: post #49

It's really courageous of him to come ahead with his story. I really hope he gets shipped back to the Philippines. Go ahead and call me a xenophobe now. Whatev. I think it is in poor form for the NYT to print this manipulative article that tries to make me feel bad for the gay, minority, do-gooder author and excuse his years of criminally fraudulent behavior. Sure, call me heartless. But, this guy is cheating you, an…

How is he cheating me or you? What is he taking away from you?

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#56

Post by stellar678 »

lupatus wrote: post #49

It's really courageous of him to come ahead with his story. I really hope he gets shipped back to the Philippines. Go ahead and call me a xenophobe now. Whatev. I think it is in poor form for the NYT to print this manipulative article that tries to make me feel bad for the gay, minority, do-gooder author and excuse his years of criminally fraudulent behavior. Sure, call me heartless. But, this guy is cheating you, an…

How and who is he cheating? You think he's not paying taxes? You think he's contributing to overloaded social services?

From what I can tell he's not working under table. (i.e. taxes are being withheld and paid on behalf of whatever social security number he's using.) And he obviously was unable to avail himself of college financial help due to his immigration status, so it seems pretty unlikely that he's able to be a drain on many other social programs.

So how he is cheating me?

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#57

Post by ktsmith »

jeffreymcmanus wrote: post #21
ktsmith wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it is great that he wrote about his story. The way the law is written he'll have to leave the country unless someone pulls some major strings for him. I'm a little more surprised about everything that is included in the article however. Specifically the following bit: By this time, Peter, who still works at The Post, had become part of management as the paper's director of newsroom training and professional d…

You assume that the employer is responsible for instantly firing any employee who is found to be undocumented. This isn't actually the case. When this happens, a legal process is set in motion -- even foreigners are permitted due process under US law. I'd also be willing to bet that his employer will continue to employ the writer even if he's deported to the Philippines, and that may have been one of the things that…

The employee would have three days to bring in documents showing work eligibility. If after three days the employee couldn't do so the employer would no longer be able to offer any benefits (employment, health insurance etc). You can call USCIS if you want confirmation on that process.

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#58

Post by nick-dap »

haberman wrote: post #28

I have no beef with this guy who was basically forced into breaking the law before he could have responsibility for his actions. But overall I just feel that the compassion about immigration is misplaced. I don't understand why all the pro-immigration people say "look at these poor undocumented immigrants -- we should make life better for them." I think the people we should have compassion for are the people who are…

How is living in limbo for a decade, with literally no single piece of paper identifying you as a human being is "cutting in line?"

And why can't we tackle these problems at the same time? Why can't we even tackle these problems _one_ at a time? The Dream Act has been under review since 2001. It is a bill that can be voted on and passed in literally two days. Why not? ... I'll answer. Our impotent Congress, two year election cycles, and media that no longer holds anybody accountable.

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#59

Post by phillmv »

haberman wrote: post #28

I have no beef with this guy who was basically forced into breaking the law before he could have responsibility for his actions. But overall I just feel that the compassion about immigration is misplaced. I don't understand why all the pro-immigration people say "look at these poor undocumented immigrants -- we should make life better for them." I think the people we should have compassion for are the people who are…

>I think the people we should have compassion for are the people who are trying to do things the right way but running into headaches. Those are the people we should make things easier for, not the people who are willing to break the law to get what they want.

>I don't understand why it's so controversial among the pro-immigration crowd to say that people shouldn't come here illegally.

It's because the official green card process is [utterly ridiculous](http://reason.com/archives/2008/10/01/what-part-of-legal-imm...) and stacked against almost every prospective immigrant. It's one of those cases where the law has failed to catch up to the underlying economics of the situation: immigrants need jobs and the US has a need for cheap or highly specialized labour.

That is the process that needs to be reformed. Kicking out the people who are already in the country doesn't achieve anything other than waste more money and ruin more lives.

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#60

Post by anigbrowl »

jacis wrote: post #54
[deleted] wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[deleted]

I think what may have thrown some people off is your usage of the word "scheme". For myself, it elicits more negative connotations and throws off the message somewhat without spending more brain cycles.

I see your point, and have updated it to say 'project' lest people get the wrong idea. I was rather upset by the sweeping declaration above that I was committing a felony, why I think should be deleted by the author since it's totally unfounded.
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